3-D printing is an exciting technology that has shown great promise in the treatment of several rare disorders. Bioprinting is a form of 3-D printing in which cells are printed or deposited on a surface layer by layer in order to produce a full organ. Lab-built organs have been shown to function well in patients, and engineered airways, bladders, blood vessels and urine tubes have been successfully implanted. An airway splint printed from biomaterials and without cells was used to save the life of an infant with tracheobronchomalacia, a rare condition where the tracheal (windpipe) cartilage is soft. The FDA approved the use of the device under the emergency-use exemption and the case report was described in the New England Journal of Medicine. read more >